Babysitting is Very, Very, VERY Dangerous Job!
by Liberty Hoffman
Summary: With the rest of the Duncan clan busy, Gabe is left to babysit Toby and Charlie. What could possibly go wrong? Gabe whump! set somewhere in season 3. Gabe POV. Title and idea inspired by "Babysitting Is A Dangerous Job" by Willow Davis Roberts. Better than it sounds!
1. My Heart Beats Like A Helicopter

So something happened last saturday, and I will warn you - this story is not for the faint of heart. I like to refer to that day as 'The Day From Hell'. It started out normally, and ended horribly. But I am getting ahead of myself. Let's start from the top, shall we?

It began in true Duncan family style: All of us, half awake, eating breakfast and immediately making faces when we realized that Mom had cooked it.

I was just reaching for an apple from the fruit bowl, when Mom turned and said, "Okay, everyone, I have a question."

I looked up. "If your wondering if we'eve figured out who made breakfast, we all know it was you."

Mom gave me a look. "No," she said, "I was going to ask someone to watch Charlie and Toby while I go to work."

Dad stood up. "Sorry, no-can-do. I've got work," He said, grabbing his keys and heading out the door.

"Teddy?" Mom asked, turning to my older sister.

Teddy winced. "Sorry, Mom, but Ivy and I are going to the mall."

I tried to remain calm because I knew I didn't have an excuse this time. In fact, I never seemed to have an excuse! At least, not a good one. I couldn't even use my friend Jake as an excuse because Mom knew that he was home with a bad case of flu.

"Any chance you can do it, PJ?" Mom asked my older brother.

"I would," PJ said sincerely, "But I have an early class today." He looked at his watch. "In fact, I'm late! Bye!"

And so that's how I ended up babysitting, alone in the house. I played peek-a-boo with Toby and princess-themed dominoes with Charlie and read them a book. Then it was nap-time. I had just gotten both kids to sleep and was headed down the stairs when I heard a noise in the kitchen. I paused, peering over the banister, trying to see through the open kitchen door. I had to cover my mouth to keeping from making noise when I saw what it was: A person wearing a black hoodie and black pants was coming through the kitchen, heading right for the living room! I ducked behind the banister, heart pounding. A burglar! And He/She was headed right toward me, though they didn't know it yet. I didn't know who this person was or what they wanted, but I knew I had to protect Charlie and Toby.

Instead of thinking, I jumped up and ran down the stairs, nearly colliding with the burglar in the process. The intruder jumped back, hood flying off, and I saw the person's face: A guy, probably somewhere between Teddy and PJ's age, short red hair and a pale face. Like, really, really pale. And there was a scar on his cheek that look like it could have been a knife wound or even a burn or something.

"What are you doing in my house?" I demanded, stepping forward.

The guy wordlessly reached into his sweatshirt pocket and, to my horror, pulled out a gun. "Stay back," He said, his voice sort of nasily and rough.

I froze for a second, then stepped back, raising my hands in defense. "Look, I don't know who y-" I began, but stopped when Red Head took a single step forward and pressed his gun to my head.

QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ

Yes, horrible cliff-hanger! Didn't see that coming, I bet! Let me know what you think so far! :)


	2. Help! Things Have Shaken Me

"Shut up and don't move, or I will be forced to hurt you."

I gave a tiny nod, afraid to move. And that's when the doorbell rang. Both of us stood, unmoving, and it rang again.

"Hello?"

For the record, I have to say that I had never in my life been happy to hear the voice of Mrs. Dabney. But, let me tell you: I was happy to hear it then! She could help me!

Red Head spun me around and pushed the gun into my back.

"Listen to me and I'll let you live," he whispered harshly. I nodded. "Answer the door and get rid of her. Do not invite her in, do not let her know I am here. Got it?"

I nodded again, my mouth dry. All my hopes of rescue were dashed. But, as Red Head pushed me to the door, a thought came to me. I knew something this guy didn't. Mrs. Dabney and I have always been life-long enemies, playing pranks on each other. Every time she showed up at the door, I always managed to answer and when I did, I never spoke kindly. All I could hope to get away with in front of Red Head was to talk nicely to her. Maybe, just maybe, she might suspect something. It was a long shot, but it was all I had.

We reached the door and I opened it only a little. Red Head stood behind the door, the gun still pressed into my back.

"Hey, Mrs. Dabney!" I said cheerfully, forcing a smile on my face.

"Hello, Gabe," Mrs. Dabney said, eyeing me warily. "Your mother asked me to check on you."

I made myself smile more. "Thanks, Mrs. Dabney, I'm doing okay. Thanks for checking!"

Red Head jabbed me in the back, and I slammed the door reflexively. Using the gun to move me along, Red Head shoved me into the kitchen. He grabbed a roll of duct-tape from a drawer and immediately taped my hands together.

"Hey, this isn't right!" I said, "You won't get away with this!"

Red Head turned me around and slapped a piece of duct-tape over my mouth. Then he shoved me back into the living room and onto the sofa where he duct taped by ankles and knees together. I couldn't move, could hardly breathe, and I was more scared than I had ever been in my whole life. I tried to struggle against the tape, but it was no use. I was totally immobilized. Red Head leaned over me, his bad breath filling my nose and making me gag.

"This isn't my first rodeo," He whispered. "Listen close. Finding you may have thrown a wrench into my plans, but you may be useful yet. My ride's coming, and your coming with me."

I was hyperventilating through my nose now, scared out of my mind. He was taking me as a hostage and he didn't work alone. This was not good. Red Head pulled out a phone and began texting. A few minutes later, he pocketed it and turned to me.

"Let's go," he growled, grabbing me by the front of my shirt and lifting me up, slinging me over his shoulder.

I saw my phone fall out of my back pocket, onto the floor, unnoticed by my captor. Red Head carried me out the back door and through the garage. The garage door was open on the bottom, just a tiny bit. I assumed that this was how the guy had gotten in. Red Head dropped me on the floor (OW!) and rolled underneath the door, pulling me through behind him. Hands grabbed me from behind and something hit my face. Before I could process what was happening, a horrible smell hit my nose and everything went black.


	3. My Heart Below Was Fluttering

I came to, still bound and gagged, my face pressed against a cold cement floor. I was cold and I hurt all over. Blinking, I looked up, unable to move from my uncomfortable position. I saw a dirty ceiling above me, a few lights hanging down, dimly lighting the room. It looked - and smelled - like someone's old basement. Probably was. How long had I been laying here? Days? Weeks? Probably not weeks, but it was long enough that my stomach was growling. A sudden banging sound, almost like hurried footsteps, echoed above my head. Then came the sound of people shouting, and then a loud voice boomed:

"Police! Hands In The Air!"

My heart soared, and I began to struggle against my bonds. "Mmhhhh!" I tried to scream through the tape on my mouth.

I heard a door creak open, and a voice called, "Hey, anybody down here?"

A flashlight beam caught the wall beside me, then disappeared. I had to get this guy's attention!

"Mmmhh!" I screamed again, thrashing. My foot caught on something and I heard, rather than saw, something clatter on the floor.

"Hey!"

The light hit me full in the face, and I squinted, still struggling against the tape.

"What the-" said the voice, and a figure came into view. A police officer!

"Adam!" He called. "You may want to come down here!"

The Officer knelt in front of me, and I struggled harder, desperate to be free.

"Hey, take it easy, kid," He said, carefully peeling the tape from my mouth. It hurt, but it was a relief to be able to breathe properly again. I gasped for air, struggling even as the Officer began to untie my hands.

"Please help me," I panted, "I was kidnapped."

There came the sound of running feet and a new voice said, "Jake, what is-" but stopped with a gasp.

"Quick, help me untie him," Jake said, pulling out a set of keys and tearing into the tape on my wrists. Adam did the same for my legs and ankles and soon I was propped against the wall, shivering and on the verge of crying.

"Can you tell me your name, son?" Jake asked.

"Gabe Duncan," I whispered.

"I don't believe it," Adam said, reaching for his radio. He began to talk into it, but my head was beginning to ache and I didn't pay any attention to what he was saying.

"Your going to be okay, Gabe," Jake said, patting my shoulder. "Can you tell me what happened?"

I told him as best I could, and when he asked me how long I'd been out, I told him I didn't know.

"Jake, this kid's been missing for over a day," Adam said, still holding his radio.

That statement got through my aching head and I jolted forward. "What?" I croaked, my eyes darting around. That was a bad idea, because my vision blurred and grew black on the edges.

"Whoa, take it easy, son, take it easy," I heard the Officer's voices call, sounding far way.

The loud piercing sound of a siren wailed, making my head hurt worse. I heard more voices, but I didn't want to move. I felt hands press against my neck and more hands lift me and I felt like I was going to pass out at any moment. But I only faded in and out, the whole world becoming blurry and grey. I had never wanted to pass out so badly in my life. Being awake and feeling this way was a horrible feeling. The siren wail didn't go away for ages until suddenly Lights flashed over my head, blinding me and making em feel even worse. I queazed my eyes shut. Finally, the movement stopped and the lights became a little dimmer and I allowed my eyes to open.

The first thing I saw was white, everywhere. As my vision stopped being so blurry, I saw a wall to my left with a counter and sink and to my right hung a long curtain from the floor to the ceiling. The curtain was closed around the small area where I lay, slightly propped up, in a bed. I winced when I felt a tugging pain in my arm and looked down to see a skinny tube attached to my arm, the end of which disapeared under a piece of tape clinging to my arm. A needle. A little plastic sort of clampy-thing was on my finger and a wire extended from it as well. I must have passed out after all, because I didn't remember getting all this attached to me.

I was distracted from my surroundings when I heard a voice say, "He's been in-and-out since we brought him in and may be asleep."

The curtain pulled back and A nurse stepped in, followed by the people I wanted to see most.

My family.

QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ

Sorry this took me a few days to update! Probably only one more chapter! More soon!


	4. But I Never Felt This Strange

Not much is weirder than completely missing a whole day of your life, especially after being kidnapped by a strange guy that just broke into your house. On top of that, I was totally groggy and my headache was worse than ever. But the sight of my family brought all of my emotions out. When the curtain pulled back and they came in, my confusion subsided for a moment. They all looked like they had been crying.

"Gabe!" Mom cried, running to the side of the bed.

Suddenly I was surrounded, being hugged by all of them, and no one's eyes were dry. When they finally all pulled back, and Mom got a good look at me, she gasped.

"Oh Gabe..." She whispered, stroking the side of my face.

I wouldn't find out how I looked until a little later when the call of nature forced me to be helped to the restroom door and after I'd done my buisness, I saw my face in the mirror for the first time. I inhaled sharply when I saw the bruises that covered my face, mostly my left cheek and my chin. When I returned to the bed and my family was all gathered around, I was about to ask some questions I was hoping they'd be able to answer, but the nurse returned just then, coming around the curtain.

"There's an officer here that would like to take your statement," she said to me.

"You don't have to right now if you don't want to, sweetheart," Mom said.

I just nodded to the nurse. "Let him in." Maybe he could answer some of the questions I had.

The nurse ducked out and a second later, in walked the man who'd found me in the basement.

"Hello," he saidnodding to everyone. "I'm Officer Burns, I'm the man who found your son."

Dad stood and shook the man's hand. "Thank you so much. You saved Gabe's life."

Officer Burns smiled. "I'm just glad he's doing alright."

He turned to me. "I'll try to make this brief. If you could please tell me what happened, from the beginning."

So I did. Dad held my hand the whole time as I explained everything I remembered, starting with seeing the intruder in the kitchen, to waking up in the basement.

When I finished, my whole family was just staring at me in horror.

"Thank you, Mr. Duncan," Officer Burns said, closing his notebook. "This will help with the case against the people who kidnapped you."

I nodded. "Thanks. For everything."

He nodded and left.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

I was kept overnight 'for cautionary purposes' as the nurse called it. But when I was brought home the next day, I found out exactly what had lead up to my rescue.

Just as I'd hoped, Mrs. Dabney was disturbed slightly by my strange behavior, which had been stranger than I'd even been trying for since I was being held at gunpoint and trying to be nice. She went back home and called Mom, asking her if I was supposed to be home by myself. Mom explained about the babysitting, which in turn made her worry that I was not being responsible. She called the house, and Charlie, who'd woken from her nap, answered. The thing that scared Mom most was when Charlie said she didn't know where I was. That's when she drove home and found the front door unlocked and the garage door partially opened. Mom called the rest of the family in a panic and they all came home. PJ was the one who found my phone, and it had 16 unanswered texts on it.

Things went really downhill when the phone rang with an alert from the police explaining that there was a massive manhunt in progress for six teens who were wanted for all sorts of crimes ranging from robbery to murder. Red Head, it turns out, was one of them. The unlocked door, partially opened garage door, and my absence, along with this alarming news about criminals made my parents call the police. Long story short, they found the teens at about 2 in the morning hiding in a house two miles from our house, and that's where I was found in the basement.

Oh, and I had to testify in court against them. So there you have it, that is the story of one of the worst days of my life.

The End.


End file.
